TEHRAN – The construction project of a new petrochemical complex is going to be commenced on Thursday in Sonqor County, in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah, Mehr news agency reported quoting an official as saying.

According to Sonqor and Kolyaei MP Javad Hosseini-Kia, with a production capacity of 48,000 tons per annum, the project will be inaugurated in a ceremony to be attended by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.

As reported, in line with the government’s policies for promoting the downstream petrochemical industry, the plant will provide over 150 direct job opportunities in the region.

Petrochemical is Iran's most important industry after oil and gas. The National Petrochemical Company hopes to lift output capacity to 120 million tons per annum by 2022.

In the March 2018-19 fiscal, Iranian companies exported $14.1 billion worth of petrochemicals. Official data has it that petrochemicals account for 32 percent of Iran’s non-oil exports.

The petrochemical industry has played a key role in domestic economic growth as it creates value-added and reduces the sale of oil and gas on which the economy has been dependent for decades.

With abundant hydrocarbon reserves and new private sector investments, Iran is working hard to maintain its global status in the key sector and broaden its scope.
EF/MA